Jillian Petersen embarking on one month of the raw food diet

Choosing to eat what you want

LONG, LONG AGO, Gabrielle Daniels, of Viroqua, used to eat the typical Western diet: drinking cans of soda, grabbing a Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries from McDonald’s. Over time, she learned that what she ate affected her mood, her body, her life. About 10 or 12 years ago she started hearing about the raw food diet. She didn’t go raw then, but over the years, she’s changed her diet to more whole foods, organically grown. She realized that dairy didn’t work well for her and cut it out. She’s never eaten a lot of meat. Then, a couple of years ago, she started talking about the raw food diet with Steve and Prudence Tippins, who have been raw vegans for years. Daniels was impressed by the idea of eating only raw food. To begin with, she made a 30-day-commitment.

“I started losing 4 or 5 pounds a week,” Daniels says. “I had massive amounts of energy. Skin problems I have had my whole life disappeared. I felt good and I looked good. I thought, ‘Why would I stop?’”

Here in Viroqua, Daniels is not alone on the raw food diet. Viroqua is a town full of people who seek a different, but better lifestyle. In particular, health seems to be a matter of cardinal importance; many folks in Viroqua strive to eat healthily. Among them are the Tippinses, among the first people who introduced the concept of raw food diet in Viroqua. They classify themselves as raw vegans. Vegans do not consume any meat or animal products such as milk, butter, or cheese. Stricter vegans would not even use any product that obtains its raw material from animals, such as silk or leather. Meanwhile, the raw food diet centers on unprocessed and uncooked foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, beans, grains, sprouts, seeds, and seaweed.

Committing to the raw food diet requires great effort, time, and energy. As a guest at the Tippins home for the past month, I got to see firsthand how Steve and Prudence prepare their meals. They make it seem casual and easy. I was anxious to know what it is like at the early stage of being fully committed to the raw food diet.

Luckily, last week, we had the opportunity to talk to Jillian Petersen on the first day that she made a full commitment to go into the raw food diet for a month. When I asked her to briefly explain about her dietary background, she said that it has probably been a “six-year journey” for her and her family. While she was deployed to Iraq for a year, she was eating “rotten food.” When she came back to America, she switched to eating organic foods most of the time—although she occasionally does eat fast food because her family likes to travel a lot. As she was feeling comfortable with the organic diet, she took a step further and decided to go dairy-free as well. As she learned about the raw food diet, she began adding raw foods into her diet. Therefore, she was able to make a natural, smooth transition to the raw food diet.

Petersen’s initial interest was in weight loss. She never struggled with her weight until having kids. Besides, diabetes runs in her family. She realized that her lifestyle needed to change a little bit. She heard amazing stories of renewal from people on the raw food diet. Her enthusiasm and commitment for the diet in the first week was strong. She wasn’t focused on one particular aspect of well-being, she wants it all.

“Now it seems more of a challenge for my overall health,” Petersen says. “We want our mental clarity and health back.”

A week later, we interviewed Petersen again. At the end of our first interview, she was a little worried that she would be feeling the effects of detoxification, the natural process of clearing out toxins when an all-raw diet is introduced. But the things she worried about weren’t materializing.. She looked great: energetic and lively. I was very curious how she was doing and asked.

“As long as I planned my meals, which I did, it was a lot easier than what I anticipated,” Petersen says. “I thought, maybe, I would have more cravings for some of my old food preferences. I thought I would miss meat a lot more than I have.”

Instead, she was noticing other things. “I am feeling really good. I am already feeling like I am requiring less sleep time. I get up at 6 a.m. ready. I do not feel like ‘oh, I want to hit the snooze button one more time.’ I have more energy,” Petersen says “I have already lost eight pounds.”

And how does that feel?

“Awesome. Really motivating,” she says. “I have gotten a lot of compliments that my face looks thinner or I look like I am glowing.” She seemed confident enough to tell us, “I am feeling really good about the next three weeks. “

The fundamental principle behind the raw food diet is that plant foods are in the most wholesome state for our body when they are uncooked and unprocessed. In other words, plant foods are most nutritious when they are in their natural state. Proponents of the raw food diet believe that heating food above 116°F not only destroys enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption of food, but also diminishes the nutritional values and “life force,” or “energy” of food. In order to get the most nourishment from food, it is vital to eat food rich in enzymes; in contrast, enzyme-less food will cause toxicity in our body. People who have “gone raw” have seen major health benefits including increased energy, improved skin appearance, better digestion, weight loss, and reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

The raw food diet is rich in nutrients. It also contains fewer trans fats and saturated fat than the typical American diet. Besides, it is low in sodium, but high in potassium, magnesium, and fiber. Furthermore, eating this way reduces the risks of having diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. However, people eating exclusively raw foods do need to be careful to get enough vitamin B12, calcium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids, which are easy to get when eating animal products.

When I ask Petersen about getting enough nutrients, she says that she’s confident she’ll get adequate protein from nuts, seeds, and dark leafy greens.

“Part of our concern as a society is that we are brought up [being told] that we have to have a big steak on our plate or a chicken breast to get protein, but that is just not factual,” Petersen says. “A lot of the foods in the raw diet contain these vital nutrients: protein, calcium, iron, etc. They are in all of these foods.” Sometimes, people simply take supplements in order to ensure they get enough nutrients.

Daniels, after her initial 30-day commitment to eating raw, went on to eat an almost 100 percent raw diet for about a year. Today, two years later, about 70 percent of her diet is still raw. Whenever people ask Daniels if she can eat a certain food, she answers them that she can eat whatever she wants. However, she is choosing to eat raw foods. She firmly believes that it is not a sacrifice. She is simply choosing to do what she wants to do; and she firmly believes that the raw food diet is the best dietary program for her in order to live a healthier life than she could on America’s typical unbalanced diet.

She also cautions that it doesn’t help to get stressed out about what we are doing. “Any benefits of eating well are negated by stressing about it. Enjoy food. That is a key thing,” Daniels says.